Zurrina watched the proceedings with narrowed yellow-green eyes. From her vantage point on the back of the sofa she could see the two Slaves -in -training bustling about with arms full of paper decorations, streamers, and balloons as they chatted and set about decorating her palace. Music was playing and it was obvious that they were going to have a celebration of some kind and whilst no one had consulted her, she decided to let it go. After all, the junior slaves and the rest of their kind could indulge in some revelry from time to time without damaging Zurrina’s grip on the neighbourhood and if she was honest, those fluffy paper ball decorations were rather pretty.

 

Just as she processed that thought, a gust of wind blew a fluffy paper flower decoration in a soft shade of rose-pink right by her nose. Zurrina watched it come to a halt and as one of the junior slaves reached for it, Zurrina pounced. Both she and the paper ball skidded along the floor but then, to make sure the junior slave couldn’t get it, Zurrina batted it up in the air with her paws. The junior slaves had both stopped what they were doing to watch her show off her attack skills. “That right, Slaves” she meowed at them “look at my attack skills!” and Zurrina batted the paper flower higher and higher until it came to rest on the coffee table. She could have left it there, but the temptation was just too much – she jumped up on the table grabbed the paper flower and leapt with it to the sofa doing some acrobatics in the air along the way.  The paper flower made enticing crinkling sounds and Zurrina batted it with her claws until both she and the flower were back at her vantage point on the sofa. 

 

The two junior slaves were still standing their watching. Zurina narrowed her eyes, were they laughing at her? She observed them for a few seconds more, tail twitching, but no, she didn’t think so. It appeared that they were just in awe of her skills and that maybe they wanted the pink paper flower as some kind of trophy to share with the other junior slaves who hadn’t yet been blessed with a Cat Queen of their own. Zurrina looked at the paper flower, it was a little bent out of shape, but it showed her claw marks clearly – it would make a very good trophy indeed. One of the Junior slaves came to get the trophy flower and even gave her a head tickle for being such an amazing acrobat come hunter. Zurinna purred in pleasure at having her skills recognised and licked the hand of the slave in acknowledgement of the slave’s devotion. She watched as the trophy flower was placed reverently at the table where the snacks would be placed later… a most important spot as everyone loves snacks and would be sure to see it.

 

The Junior Slaves began blowing up balloons to make a big archway around the door and Zurrina admired the different colours and sizes until she noticed the orange balloons on the floor waiting to be added to the arch. Hmmmm. She wasn’t sure about those – they didn’t seem to compliment the other decorations and whilst she was ok with her palace being decorated for a party, she did still want the final say in the overall look. She padded over on silent paws until she was in the thick of all the balloons. Up close, the orange colour was even more unlikeable. What to do? Zurrina sniffed at them pondering her next steps when in walked Tank, one of the corgis she was forced to live with, who looked at the balloons apprehensively. Tank didn’t like balloons. In fact, if she remembered correctly, he was rather scared of them or rather, of the bang they made when popping… 

 

Zurrina smiled to herself. Extending one claw she pricked the nearest orange balloon with the tip of her claw. 

 

Bang! The balloon popped and Tank jumped into the air with a little squeak of fright. Zurrina may have found it funny, or rather, she would have found it funnier, if in fact she hadn’t got quite such a fright herself. She crawled out from under the sofa – she didn’t remember dashing under there? Maybe, just this once, Tank wasn’t being ridiculously wussy and those balloons were actually dangerous. Zurrina observed the remaining orange balloons. How to dispose of them – popping them was not an option. She batted one carefully with a paw making sure all her claws were properly retracted.  They were very easy to move. Zurrina glanced around. If she was quick, she could hide the remaining orange balloons behind the sofa before the Junior Slaves came back to investigate the popping of the other balloon. “Go and delay the humans” she ordered Tank. “But how, Zurrina?” asked Tank. Zurrina flicked her tail in annoyance. “Go beg for food or something” she told him. Really, it was no surprise to her that she had to do all the thinking, but she surmised, that was why she was the queen, supreme ruler of the Meadowcroft Kingdom. With deft movements she separated the orange balloons from the others and hid them behind the sofa.

 

Zurrina watched the proceedings from her secret spot on one of the dining room chairs for a bit longer before deciding that it seemed like everything was under control. She admired the colourful paper decorations and balloons (having no orange ones was definitely the right decision – what would they do without her?) and she decided it was time for a nap before the party started. She stretched and yawned. She would like to lie on the sofa, but the balloons were still behind the sofa and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to rest easy knowing they were lurking there. If just one person sat down too heavily or tried to recline the sofa the hidden balloons would go off like popcorn… no, best to go nap elsewhere. She jumped off the chair to make her way upstairs, passing Tank along the way. “You may nap on the sofa” she told him.